1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to surgical drapes especially adapted for use in highly complex surgical procedures such as hip, knee or leg surgery. In particular, it is directed to such surgical drapes including a generally U-shaped fenestration and adhesive means for attachment to the patient. Further, the invention is concerned with methods for folding such drapes so as to provide a compact package that may be quickly unfolded and applied with reduced danger of contamination.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Historically, the preparation of a patient for surgery has involved covering all exposed portions except the area of the incision with rectangular sheets of muslin. Disadvantages of this procedure include the tendency of muslin to lint and the accompanying danger of lint entering the incision, the ability of most liquids to wet through muslin thus breaking the sterile barrier, and the high cost of the laundering/reuse cycle.
With the advent of nonwovens, surgical drapes designed for single use have been produced at a cost which makes their use practical. Further, disposable drapes can be manufactured from relatively non-linting, liquid-repellent materials that reduce the risk to the patient. In addition to the convenience of disposability, some of these drapes have been provided with adhesive attachment means to resist displacement of the drape once it is firmly fixed in position. A wide variety of disposable surgical drapes have been produced for varying surgical procedures including non-fenestrated drapes, fenestrated drapes, and split sheets or sheets having a U-shaped fenestration in one end. Examples of such are included in U.S. Pat. NO. 3,494,356 to Melges issued Feb. 10, 1970; U.S. Pat. 3,669,106 to Schrading and Winters issued June 13, 1972; U.S. Pat. No. 3,693,618 to Madden issued Sept. 26, 1972; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,668,050 to Donnelly issued June 6, 1972.
While disposable surgical drapes have met with success in solving many of the problems relating to the use of muslin sheets, in more complicated limb surgery disposable drapes heretofore have not been entirely satisfactory. For example, in hip surgery, an operation being performed in ever-increasing numbers, it is necessary to cover the patient completely including legs and other body members, except in the specific area of the incision. This surgical procedure often takes a number of hours and may involve movement of the patient's leg or legs. Thus, the demands placed on the surgical drape to completely seal off the area of the incision in a manner that will last for hours and withstand physical movement are most difficult to meet. Prior art methods such as those described in the patents to Melges and Madden mentioned above involving the use of ties and/or multiple adhesive strips have proven to be largely unsatisfactory when applied to long, complicated surgical procedures. Even the split sheet as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 4 of the Schrading and Winters patent recited above has not proven readily adaptable to such procedures because of the lack of a complete seal around the fenestration and the difficulty in applying the drape by means of two adhesive strips while simultaneously unfolding it over a large area without contamination.